So, some jackass preacher in Florida decided he was in need of attention and that the best way to get it would be to burn a Qur’an — publicly, making sure all the media knew about it:

The Islam-hating Florida preacher who scuttled plans to burn the Koran last year, changed his mind and had a copy of the holy book set on fire this weekend.

Pastor Terry Jones supervised the book barbecue at his tiny Gainesville, Fla., church Sunday – after declaring the Muslim holy text “guilty” of crimes.

Jones drew widespread condemnation last year when he threatened to burn a stack of Korans on the Sept. 11 anniversary – sparking wild protests around the world.

He agreed to stand down after receiving a call from Defense Secretary Robert Gates warning him that the provocative act could endanger U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jones said at the time that he had made his point and vowed not to carry out the bizarre plan.

He went back on his word, he said, because he had been “trying to give the Muslim world an opportunity to defend their book” – but had not received a response.

And the predictable thing happened afterwards: riots in Afghanistan in which outrageously outraged members of the Religion of Perpetual Outrage went berserk and rioted in Mazar-i-Sharif, killing at least ten UN workers, including beheading two.

Naturally, our US Senators sprang into action, condemning the killings and defending the right of free speech and… No, wait. What really happened is that they bent over backwards to appease murderous savages and condemn an American exercising his unalienable right to freedom of speech:

U.S. lawmakers said Sunday they would consider a request by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to formally condemn a Florida pastor’s decision to burn the Koran, after the act triggered deadly riots in Afghanistan.

Senate Cowboy Poet Majority Leader Harry Reid said that the Senate is considering a resolution condemning the pastor, while saying nothing about the utter barbarism perpetrated by the Afghan rioters. Even worse, however, was this gem from Lindsey Graham, showing that craven appeasement and stupidity is a bipartisan phenomenon. Allahpundit quotes him and describes the problem:

As for Graham, “I wish we could find some way to hold people accountable,” he laments, clearly deflated by the thought that the First Amendment applies even while we’re “at war.” And if you’re not sure what he means by “at war” — well, I’m not either. Are we “at war” only if troops are in the field? No Koran-burning, in other words, until the last U.S. serviceman has left Iraq and Afghanistan (and Libya)? Or are we “at war” as long as Al Qaeda and other anti-American jihadist movements exist, ready and willing to demagogue acts like Jones’s for their own uses? Even if all Islamist outfits in the world were eliminated, wouldn’t Graham want to continue the ban on Koran-burning lest it inspire new jihadist outfits to spring up? There’s no limiting principle to this idea, realistically. It’d end up being his own version of an “emergency law.”

Click the above link for video, if you can stomach looking at the weasel.

One last quote, for those senators anxious to punish an American for speaking his mind:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Senators Reid and Graham, that is the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, that document you’ve sworn to uphold and defend. I suggest you read it again and pay special attention to the parts in bold, because your duty includes defending the rights even of jerks like Pastor Terry Jones.

Don’t get me wrong: I am not defending what Jones did. After over a decade in which we’ve seen Muslims riot and kill seemingly at the drop of a hat –over cartoons, for Pete’s sake– he had to have known that his actions carried the risk of serious consequences. He is, at the least, a selfish, publicity-seeking wretch.

But, notwithstanding all that, he had every right to do what he did, and I for once would like to see our political figures defend those rights loudly and proudly, instead of cravenly appeasing a bunch of Islamic supremacists for fear that they might, again, be unable to control themselves. The only persons responsible for the deaths in Mazar are the Muslim rioters, themselves.

My dear Senators, we’re in a war to defend Western civilization. Try to act like you really care about its values, okay?

Back in the 2008 campaign, one of the most persistent smears of Sarah Palin was that she tried to have some books banned from the local library while she was Mayor of Wasilla. That’s kind of hard to square with the woman who would write this, however:

Book burning is antithetical to American ideals. People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation – much like building a mosque at Ground Zero.

I would hope that Pastor Terry Jones and his supporters will consider the ramifications of their planned book-burning event. It will feed the fire of caustic rhetoric and appear as nothing more than mean-spirited religious intolerance. Don’t feed that fire. If your ultimate point is to prove that the Christian teachings of mercy, justice, freedom, and equality provide the foundation on which our country stands, then your tactic to prove this point is totally counter-productive.

So, let me get this straight: that raging, fire-breathing Evangelical Christian, that chillbilly social conservative, is arguing against burning the sacred texts of a religion, Islam, many of whose adherents are waging war against us in its name? And she’s doing so in eloquent terms that appeal to reason and express the best ideals of her country and her faith?